Never Too Late
by And The Moment's Gone
Summary: Bringing them home was easy. It was what they risked and would miss that was hard.
1. Prologue

**Title**: Never Too Late

**Word** **Count**: 569

**Rating**: PG-14 for language

**Warnings**/**Spoilers**: All three seasons are fair game. And read _There and Back Again_, for clarification.

**Summary**: Bringing them home was easy. It was what they risked and would miss that was hard.

**Official** **Disclaimer**: All Veronica Mars characters and plots belong to Rob Thomas and the CW. I do not hold stock either the man or the company. Veronica Mars, Logan Echolls, and any other character featured are NOT mine.

* * *

**Prologue**

There were days that were built for school. Days when the sun didn't shine and rain was almost imminent, those were the days that you went to class in a haze and come out the other side of the hour ready to bunker down with your boyfriend and enjoy good movies, good sex, and maybe get a little studying for finals done in between.

Veronica had just gotten off the phone with said boyfriend, after hearing his idea for her after class activities, and decided to grab a cup of coffee at the student union before moving on to her English lecture. She dropped her new iPhone into her purse and then turned, handing her cash to the person at the register.

"Veronica."

She came up short after retrieving her coffee, almost bumping her face into the chest of the man behind her. He hadn't changed much in the two years since she had seen him last. Dressed as casually as he could get in a pair of khaki's and a crisp white shirt, she was almost amazed not to see a straw hat on top of his head. There was a split second when she thought this could be a coincidence. Then she noticed his wife. "Mr. Kane. Celeste."

"Call me Jake." There was a terse moment when neither one seemed to know what was going on before Jake Kane cleared his throat. "I know you know where he is, how to contact him." There was no need to clarify who that _he_ was. There could only be one person Jake Kane would want to talk to Veronica about. "He needs to come home."

There was a moment before Veronica realized exactly what this meant for her life and her best friend. "He's being accused of kidnapping in the first degree and transporting an infant over state lines." She tried to find every single reference to the law in her head and no matter how hard she tried the numbers 15 to life kept popping into her head. "There's no way he's coming back."

"The Manning's have agreed to drop the charges." Jake was still tense, trying his hardest to not try to take over the conversation and force Veronica to give up the phone number or address. "They are still suing him for custody of Lilly, but they've agreed to drop almost all charges."

A part of her was jumping for joy. It was a shame that the other part was going over all of the ways a homecoming for Duncan and his daughter could end in disaster. Veronica weighed the odds and then shook her head. "And Lilly? Can you guarantee she'll be safe?"

"I can protect my granddaughter. "

Veronica couldn't believe that Jake Kane was trying to win her over by pretending to be infallible. She shook her head again. "Like you protected your daughter?"

Finally Celeste was tired of being quiet. "You listen here-"

"No, _you_ listen." Veronica took a sip of her coffee and held up one finger. "Duncan and Lilly are not coming back until you can promise their _complete_ safety. Do you understand?" Without so much as a goodbye, Veronica turned on her heel and headed out of the student union.

She was all the way out to the car before she realized that she was in a bad mood.

And she had such high hopes for the day.

* * *

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	2. Chapter One

**Title**: Never Too Late

**Word** **Count**: 4,119

**Rating**: PG-14 for language {May change in the future}

**Warnings**/**Spoilers**: All three seasons are fair game. And read _There and Back Again_, for clarification.

**Summary**: Bringing them home was easy. It was what they risked and would miss that was hard.

**Official Disclaimer**: All Veronica Mars characters and plots belong to Rob Thomas and the CW. I do not hold stock either the man or the company. Veronica Mars, Logan Echolls, and any other character featured are NOT mine.

* * *

When Logan returned home from his last class, he never expected to be shouted upstairs by his best friend and tech support. When he came upstairs, he realized that there were days when he wished his life were normal. "Was there a cram session that I forgot we were hosting Sugar Plum?" He kissed the top of Veronica's head as she gave him a backward hug from her seat on the couch and Mac waved at him from her perch on the chaise lounger. Dick was lying between the coffee table and the fireplace and he barely registered the nod his best friend afforded him.

There was definitely something going on.

"No." Veronica dropped back into her seat and grabbed for another file. She'd looked in every single text book she had and had Mac doing internet research, and there was still no way for her to justify anything that had happened that afternoon. There was no way that Duncan would regain custody of his daughter if it were taken to open court. "I needed to find something," she announced cryptically.

As he looked at the mess of law textbooks and files that Veronica had compiled on kidnapping cases and defenses that currently covered every available surface in the room, Logan quirked an eyebrow at his girlfriend. There was definitely something that she was trying too hard not to tell him. "So you tore apart my living room?"

She didn't even look at him when she smiled. "It's ours, darling," she reminded him softly, hoping to distract him.

For a brief second, Logan considered letting her correction slide. Then he remembered that she was Veronica and he was Logan, and they had an audience. "Yours is downstairs," he shot back at her. There was a split second delay before Veronica flicked him off, he dropped a kiss to the top of her head and stole her mug off of the coffee table. "Thank you, Honey Bunny." He snarked to the back of her head as he drained the glass. "Now, what's going on?"

Veronica shifted a file on the table next to where her mug used to be and sighed. There was something to be said about a man that could know your mood before you did and love you for it. "I ran into our favorite parents today at the student union." The word 'parents' was drawn out, as if she was trying to make it seem less important then it was. The last thing that she needed was Logan guessing everything that had happened before she had a chance to run it through her mental filter. There were certain parts of the conversation that Logan didn't need to be in on quite yet.

It was a shame that Logan was more attuned to her then she realized. "You said 'favorite' with more sarcasm then you reserve for your father, so how are Jake and Celeste?"

She pretended to be bored. "Still breathing." When Dick reached for the file, Veronica practically threw another one at him to keep him still. "Put that down."

The Casablancas heir complied, and then reached for one closer to him. "That also means don't grab for another one," Mac chastised without looking up from her computer monitor. She shook off the playful feeling that came with hanging out over at the Echolls/Mars household. Veronica asked her to find something useful and so far she was having no luck.

"Bite me, Mackie."

She couldn't help herself. Mac chomped her teeth together in Dick's direction, again without looking at him. Dick paused, watching her face, and a split second later she smiled. When the smile faded, Mac turned to Veronica. "I still can't find anything," she said at last. "I can e-mail him again if you want."

"Not yet, I don't want to seem desperate. I've got to find something else."

Dick sat up straighter and shared a look with Mac. "Or you could accept it's a sweet deal," he said after a moment. And to him it was.

"It's not," Veronica snapped at him. "I've got to find a contingency, and why the _hell_ won't Clarence call me back."

It was then that Logan noticed the sticky note attached to Veronica's cell phone.

"Must have been some conversation with Jake," he sighed, going through everything in his mind before reaching for a file. Veronica tried to snatch it out of his hand, and he took a step out of her reach. It took him a moment to realize that he was holding the original case file on the Kane/Manning kidnapping case. It was the file she had stolen from Sheriff Lamb two and a half years ago after the FBI had put the search on hold. There could only be one reason why Veronica was frantic while going through those kinds of files. "Veronica?"

"There's a deal on the table," she said at last, not looking at her boyfriend. "Jake wants me to call Duncan and arrange for him to come home."

It was the phrase that Logan had been waiting for longer then he realized. Ever since Duncan and his daughter were rushed out of the country, he couldn't wait until Daddy Kane was able to get enough dirt on the Manning's to bring them back for good. Although, now that that time had come, Logan couldn't help but wonder what price came with it. And if Veronica, the most optimistic person he knew when it came to Duncan and Lilly coming home, felt that something wasn't right, then there must be.

He was quiet for too long. After Logan set the file back down on the couch he realized that there were three sets of eyes watching his next move. He regarded the blonde in front of him carefully. "What kind of deal?" he asked, and then realizing that there must have been something that he was missing, looked at the file again. "What's the catch?"

"With the exception of the fact that he's still being sued for custody of Lilly, there isn't one that I can find." Veronica ran a hand through her hair and sighed. She flipped through the file in front of her one more time before giving up and throwing it onto the coffee table with the rest. "And I've looked into the lawyer that the Manning's have on retainer. Jake's going to have to throw some serious money into this."

"Money that Jake Kane definitely has." Logan moved around the couch to dump himself onto the love seat that was positioned perpendicular with the chaise and the couch that Veronica was occupying. He watched as his girlfriend adjusted herself on the couch and her head dropped onto the back of the couch behind her. "And I've met the Kane's lawyer. Burney isn't anything they need to be ashamed of."

Veronica shook her head and reached for the file she had Mac dig up on Burney. "He hasn't had to deal with anything as domestic as a child custody case," she argued harshly. "I don't know if he'll be much use in court."

"So they hire someone who is." Logan ran a hand through his hair and looked over at the two on the other side of the room for help. Dick was thumbing through a surf magazine and Mac still hadn't looked up from her laptop. "I think you should make the call and see what Duncan says."

Mac shrugged to herself and her eyes met Logan's over the top of her laptop and she shrugged again. "Clarence wouldn't have given the okay for Jake to ask you if he didn't think it was safe."

"Weidman thinks whatever it is Jake pays him to think." Veronica shook her head and then picked up her cell phone again. "I'm not arranging for him to come home unless I know that he and his daughter aren't going to be taken away from each other." Veronica grabbed the empty mug off of the coffee table and forced a breath as she stood. She wasn't getting anywhere with this, no matter what she did, and for Logan to suggest that they just allow their friend to come back without a plan was just the frosting on the cake. She made it all the way to the kitchen on the floor below before Logan caught up with her. He blocked her in the kitchen between the counter and the fridge, and when she couldn't get the door open she turned to face him. "I can't call him and tell him that his father's brokered him this 'sweet deal' that has _no chance_ of actually happening," she told him seriously, clutching the mug to her chest. "I can't tell him that he had the biggest chance of losing his daughter in the pretense of winning her back."

Logan shifted from one foot to the other and then he reached into his pocket for his phone. "I'll call him-" he decided.

"No!" Veronica snatched the phone out of his hand and almost dropped the mug onto the tile in the process. "I'm not going to let you do that to him, either."

Logan ran a hand through her hair before taking his phone back. "He's a big boy." When her eyes dropped to the mug, Logan slid a finger under her chin. "I think he needs to be able to make his own decision."

Her voice was smaller then either of them would ever admit. "What if it backfires?"

He kissed her nose and took the mug from her as well, setting it on the counter behind her. "Then Veronica Mars and the Super Friends will get him out of it."

* * *

"Veronica."

An hour and a half after their conversation in the kitchen and Veronica had changed her mind. Again. Mac watched with an almost morbid curiosity as her best friend and Logan seemed to dance around the living room, both of them holding their cell phones.

"Logan," Veronica spit back at him as she clutched her phone close to her chest. She had managed to hold onto the phone for now, but if Logan actually tried to put some strength behind his attempt, she would have no other choice. His head cocked to one side and hers to the other.

"Give me the phone," he commanded lightly, watching as she slid behind the couch. They were downstairs now, in the living room that Logan referred to as hers, and he shot a look over his shoulder at Dick and Mac over by the bar. Something was telling him that they were having way too much fun sitting there watching them.

Veronica just took a step backwards and shook her head. "No."

"Give. Me. The. Phone." He was getting tired now, more of chasing her then the argument. There were days when he hated how strong willed his girlfriend was. "I don't have his number programmed into mine."

All Veronica could do was smile. "Too bad for you."

"_Veronica_." Logan shifted around the couch and grabbed her wrist in the hand that didn't have his cell in it. He dropped the phone into his pocket and reached his other hand for her free wrist. Careful not to hurt her arms, he pulled her in closer to him. Shifting his hand he grasped both of her arms in on hand and reached for the other.

Her hands curled away from his and she clutched the phone in both hands. "_Please_ don't do this."

No matter what her begging did to him, Logan refused to budge. "He needs to know," he told her sternly, trying his hardest not to crumble with her puppy eyes focused on him. "This is the _only_ chance he has to come home. He _doesn't_ _get_ another one."

There was a full minute delay as she held the phone close to her chest with both hands. When she relented with a huff, she was biting her lip. "Tell him I'm against it."

Logan kissed her on the forehead and made a grab for the phone before she could take the idea back again. "I love you."

Then the house phone rang.

* * *

While Veronica ranted and raved on the phone with the unfortunate Clarence Weidman, who had finally decided to give her a call, Logan took her cell phone onto the deck that led off of the living room that he liked to think was his. He dropped himself down on the outdoor loveseat that he had allowed Veronica and Mac to pick out on one of their many shopping trips and propped his feet up on the ottoman while staring at the iPhone in his hands.

When the door slid open again, he looked up, just in time to see Dick slip through the crack of light and close the French door behind him. "She's still screaming at Weidman," Dick announced, allowing himself to fall onto the double chaise lounger adjacent from Logan. "It sounds like they're already talking about contingency plans." There was a pause as Logan took a moment to be amazed that his best friend knew what a contingency plan was. Then Dick smiled. "I was thinking Chinese for dinner tonight."

"You came out here to tell me your idea for dinner?" he sounded skeptical, and finally his eyes lifted from the phone to catch his friends in the faint light.

"I came up here to make sure you were okay," Dick answered honestly. "Ronnie's been freaking about calling Duncan all afternoon and something tells me you don't disagree with her as much as you want us to think you do."

"I'm not sure when you got smart, Dick, but I'm not sure I like it." Logan dropped the phone onto the ottoman as he set his feet on the deck and shook his head.

The Casablancas heir just smiled. "Called him yet?" He nodded to the phone.

Logan followed the tilt of Dick's head and shook his own. "It's gonna be late there."

Dick shook his head and grabbed for the phone. "It's two o'clock in the afternoon there, Dude." He laughed after thumbing through the tools to the world clock. Veronica had conveniently set the New South Wales time zone as one of the presets. "Worst case scenario you catch him at work."

"He doesn't leave the house to work." Logan said off-handedly, snatching the phone back. "And I don't know what to tell him."

They sat there for a moment, each lost in their own thoughts. "Given any thought to where he's going to stay when he gets home?"

"With his parents, I think." Logan ran a hand over his head and then smiled. "They renovated the Clark Street house, he may just stay there."

"And let his kid play in the same pool her aunt died in?" Dick scrunched his nose and coughed. "Kinda morbid given they share the same name."

"That's for the Kane's to decide." He shrugged. "Celeste probably wants him close to home."

Dick laughed. "Considering the fact that they didn't want him to have this kid to begin with?" He sighed and leaned forward and pushed himself to his feet. "Just make the damn call, dude. I'm ordering dinner."

It had taken almost a year before he stopped jumping every time the phone rang. Two for his cell phone. Duncan Kane was currently lounging on his couch with his daughter on his lap when the phoned on the table chirped to life. Careful not to disturb the nap that had taken two hours to orchestrate, he toed the phone to his end of the coffee table and picked it up on the third ring, not bothering to check the caller id.

Logan took a deep breath after the 'hello' and tried his hardest not to sound panicked. "DK."

Sitting up as best he could, Duncan dispensed with the pleasantries in favor of blind panic. They had resorted to post cards and letters since they were caught by Veronica's father a year ago, nothing that can truly be traced to a specific place after they mailed it to him. There was no way that Logan was calling him unless it was something truly important. "What's wrong?"

Logan took another breath, wishing that he had had the chance to shoot the breeze with his best friend before having to come out with the information that he had. So much for his plan. "The Mannings are dropping the kidnapping charges." He waited a beat, just long enough to know that Duncan was smiling on the other end to let the other shoe drop. "They're still suing you for custody, D." He watched through the blinds as Veronica ran a hand though her hair and then put the house phone to her ear one more time. "Your Dad says its okay for you to come home."

"What does Veronica say?"

Logan laughed. "She doesn't like it," he told his friend honestly, the good news was that his voice was definitely less tense then it was the first few minutes of the conversation. "She's been talking to Clarence all day. Trying to figure out if this is the real deal. Your parents have a lawyer on retainer already too." He ran a hand through his hair and waited. "I don't have the specifics but I know they want you home as soon as possible."

Duncan shifted on the couch to lay Lilly on her side so he could stand. "And if I don't want to come back?" he asked quickly, going through his options in his head. "What if I've made a home here?"

"Everyone's banking on you wanting to be able to bring 'Lil home." Logan stood as well, walking to the end of his balcony and looking out at the beach. Part of the reason he'd bought his house was for the view. "According to what I could get out of Ronnie, your mom was even there to ask her to call you."

"There's a shocker." Duncan smiled as his daughter shifted in her sleep. Going home would mean a lot of new opportunities for him and his daughter, although Celeste being there to welcome him home was a new one. "She was the first one to tell me that I couldn't handle taking care of Lil on my own."

"Well she's on board with whatever your father thinks, I guess." Logan turned back toward the house and caught a glimpse of Veronica shoving an eggroll in her mouth with one hand while the other was writing down whatever Weidman was telling her over the phone. "Either that or she misses her son. She's willing to overlook the pint-sized version of your sister in order to get you back."

"That's not good enough and you know it." Duncan took a swig of the soda on the coffee table and went back to his pacing. "I'll get the first flight out tomorrow," he decided, watching his daughter sleep. If there was a chance that he would be able to come home he needed to take it. Lilly needed to know where she came from. "I want you and Ronica to pick me up from the airport," he said next, trying to compile a mental list of everything that he would need and everything that he would be able to pick up when he got to Neptune. He wouldn't accept it if his parents sent the jet so he would have to be able to fit everything in a bag or two to make it on a commercial plane. "And I don't want to see my parents."

"That could prove problematic." His mind was going through all of the ways that the Kanes could be unhappy with whatever arrangement that Duncan decided on. He was also trying to find the right way to tell Veronica that he had already mentally offered his best friend and his daughter their guest room. The latter problem would definitely be easier then the former."

"Those are my terms," Duncan said finally, trying to figure out when the best time to ask if he and Lilly could crash with Logan was. He wasn't about to assume that Logan would be okay with them encroaching on his space again.

"They could cut you off," Logan reminded him.

"I can get a job once the dust settles," Duncan assured him. "And it's called changing banks. They can't touch what they've already given." He settled onto one of the chairs in his living room and sighed. "And idea when the hearing is going to start?"

"There was no date mentioned when your parents saw Ronnie earlier," Logan admitted. "But if they're trying to find you, I'd say soonishly." He laughed and then sighed. "You may have to suck it up and visit the lawyer with your dad once you get here."

"He's easier to deal with," Duncan confided after a moment. He watched Lilly stir and then laughed. "Think you could get Mac to make me a reservation at the Grande?" he asked sheepishly.

Logan shook his head even before he realized that his friend couldn't see him. "You're staying here with us, man." Without realizing what he just offered, he went on. "Ronnie would love to see Lilly and it's harder for your parents to drop in unexpectedly if you're there."

"So you've moved out of the Presidential?" Duncan asked after a second, choosing to look over the fact that Veronica apparently had space in Logan's new living quarters.

Logan laughed, turning to look at the outside of his house in the remaining light of the evening. "To a nice little cottage on the water," he admitted carefully, using the same phrase that Veronica had used when she first told Keith that she was planning on moving in with her boyfriend. He just hoped he got a better response then they got from Keith. "It even got the Veronica seal of approval before I bought it." He refrained from telling his friend that almost ninety percent of the house, his bedroom being one of the only exceptions, was decorated by Veronica.

There was a cry on his end, and Duncan turned around to find his daughter sitting up on the couch rubbing her eyes. "I'll call you with the details of my flight. Lil has decided to cut her nap short."

"No problem." Logan turned and watched as Mac threw a chopstick at Dick, reminding him that he was missing dinner. "I'll tell Ronnie that we should expect you sometime tomorrow night?"

"Sound good." Duncan ran a hand over his hair again and smiled. "Have a good night, Logan."

"You too DK." Hanging up the phone he made his way back into the house. "Why are we not eating food in the kitchen?" He asked, only half seriously.

Dick took a bite off of his chopstick and shrugged. "Ronnie kicked us out of the room."

"She claimed we were being too loud," Mac confirmed, handing Logan his take out box and a set of chopsticks.

The voice came from behind him, and Logan didn't even get the chance to turn around before Veronica's arms wrapped around his torso from behind. "They were throwing food," she corrected. "It was distracting when I was trying to come up with a plan to get a man and a toddler out of the country again."

Mac pointed at Dick the same time his finger pointed in her direction, neither one looking at the other. "Well Duncan is flying in tomorrow with Lilly," Logan told the room, pulling Veronica out from behind him with his free hand and kissing her on the forehead. He set his food on the coffee table and handed her back her cell phone. "He's going to call with the information once he's got it. I'll take the day off and go pick him up."

"Do we need to get him a suite or is he staying with his parents?" Veronica already had it on the tip of her tongue to tell Logan that Duncan should just stay with them.

"I offered him the guest room," he admitted, watching Veronica smile. "Didn't think you'd mind."

"I don't." Veronica pulled the Kane business card out of her pocket again, this time dialing the main number instead of Clarence's extension. "I'm going to tell Jake, you eat your dinner." She kissed him quickly and then looked to the two sitting on the chaise lounger. "And the cleaning service isn't here until tomorrow morning, so someone needs to get the General Cho's chicken off of my living room floor."

With huge grins and heads hung low, Mac and Dick almost raced to the stairs.

* * *

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	3. Chapter Two

**Title**: Never Too Late

**Word** **Count**: 5,712

**Rating**: PG-14 for language {May change in the future}

**Warnings**/**Spoilers**: All three seasons are fair game. And read _There and Back Again_, for clarification.

**Summary**: Bringing them home was easy. It was what they risked and would miss that was hard.

**Official Disclaimer**: All Veronica Mars characters and plots belong to Rob Thomas and the CW. I do not hold stock either the man or the company. Veronica Mars, Logan Echolls, and any other character featured are NOT mine.

* * *

Waking up with the alarm was something that Logan had become familiar with over the last few months. It was waking up with a second person in his bed that hadn't been there when he went to sleep that he had to learn to become accustomed to. He rolled over, silencing the alarm and then wrapping his arms around his girlfriend, pulling her closer to him. He buried his nose in her hair and kissed the back of her head. "This is something I could get used to."

"I still have a bedroom downstairs." Veronica shifted in her boyfriends' arms and rolled him onto his back before sliding over his body and resting one leg on either side. "I just wanted to make sure we had a very good morning."

Logan pulled her down so their torso's touched. "Things are gonna get pretty hectic pretty fast," Logan agreed, letting his hands rest lightly on her hips. It wasn't often that Veronica ended up in his bed, and he was fully intending on taking advantage of it. He kissed her neck slowly, and then rolled them so she was pinned beneath him.

"All I can say now is you better enjoy this, Echolls." Her shirt came up over her head and she kissed his cheek before lying back against the down feather pillows that he had insisted on. "Because this is all you're getting until Duncan and Lilly move out."

* * *

It wasn't often that Mac was actually allowed to use the key that she had been given to the Echolls-Mars beach house. In truth anytime both cars were in the driveway she was almost apprehensive, but she had been told that if she wasn't there by eleven to help Veronica with her long list of things to do that she would be disowned. She dropped her keys on the sideboard, sliding her laptop bag to the floor and then headed into the kitchen, hoping that she could make enough noise to alert the rest of the house that they were no longer alone.

"Coffee's cold." Veronica's voice came from behind her, and Mac had to force herself not to ask what a wet-haired Veronica was doing coming from Logan's floor. "There's some tea in the cabinet, though. "

"I don't want to know why there's a full pot of cold coffee, do I?" Mac took a glass out of the cabinet and the reached into the fridge for the milk. "I do want to know why I just ditched my ethics class."

Veronica chuckled and ran the towel over her hair again. "Ethics?" With a shake of her head, Veronica let the obvious joke slide. "I need baby stuff," Veronica said off-handedly, tossing the towel onto the barstool next to her. "And I need to get the guest room ready for tonight, and I can't get it done by myself."

Mac just nodded, taking a sip of her milk. "We'll make a list," she decided, running a hand through her hair and then turning to smile at the shirtless Logan that had just cleared the stairs. "Although ditching ethics for a topless show isn't a bad tradeoff."

"Love you too, Mackie." Logan patted her head and reached around her to grab a mug of his own. He filled it with the cold coffee and then popped it into the microwave, setting the timer. "And for the record, exotic dancers go topless. Men are shirtless."

"Something tells me you wouldn't resist if someone decided to stuff some ones down your pants." Mac patted his chest and moved to the other side of the room. "If you need some heavy lifting, Dick owes me a favor." She was addressing Veronica this time, almost blocking Logan out completely. "He's got English until noon but I don't think he'd mind if we fed him."

Logan took his now warm coffee out of the microwave and sighed. "I'm not sure which bothers me more," he said slowly, taking a sip. "The fact that my best friend owes you a favor, or that you now know his schedule." He paused and then shook his head. "You deciding to lower your standards?"

"The second I do you're the first to know." She winked. Logan stuck his tongue at her and she turned to her best friend who was watching the scene with a morbid curiosity. "Did you want to go shopping first?" She ran a hand through her hair and then stuck the other one into the pocket of her corduroys.

"Can I trust you two to behave while I go change?" Veronica asked candidly, pulling her towel off of the barstool and wrapping it around her shoulders.

Mac nodded and Logan shrugged. "We'll do our best," he promised, taking another sip of his coffee. When Veronica was out of the room, Logan looked his friend over. "How's the single life treating you, Mackie?"

"Not too bad." She jammed her other hand into her pocket and eyed her glass of milk on the counter. She and Bronson had been together for almost a year when he had called it off. She tried for days to get him to give her more of an answer then the fact that he didn't think her heart was truly in it. She had been forced to admit that in the end he was right, and she was better for it. "Dick keeps trying to drag me to parties though. I could probably go without that."

"I can talk to him if you'd like." Logan drained the coffee cup with one last swig and poured himself another one. Reheated coffee wasn't his favorite way to get caffeine in the morning, but he really didn't want to wait until another pot was brewed.

Mac just shook her head. "It's not that bad," she decided, grabbing her glass of milk and moving out into the living room. "He just wants me to get out more."

"You're defending Dick Casablancas?" Logan joked quickly. "The second coming is here."

When she dropped herself onto the couch, Mac threw a glare over her shoulder. "And here I thought it was mandatory that we got along." She looked toward Veronica's room and then back at Logan. "We can't hate each other forever, you know."

"Not what I meant, Mackster." Logan held a hand up defensively. "My life is actually easier when everyone gets along. I just meant that you and Dick seem to be more buddy buddy then in recent past."

"And I meant that we kind of have to be." Mac took a sip of her drink and glanced again at Veronica's bedroom door. The last thing she wanted was for her friend to walk out during this conversation. Veronica had vocally opposed Dick and Mac becoming friends over the summer. Now that spring semester was here there was no telling where the blonde detective sat on the issue. "We've got too much in common to hate each other anymore."

Logan nodded thoughtfully. "Well, he could use a friend like you," he decided, smiling down at Mac. "And you could use a friend like him."

There was a pause as Mac cocked her head to one side. " A misogynistic drunken lay about?" she asked off-handedly.

"I was going to go with fun loving, doesn't take life too seriously kind of guy." Veronica's door popped open and Logan shook his head as he stood. "I'm going to go get dressed, then Dick and I are going to go to the gym." He kissed Veronica on the head and then turned to Mac. "Let us know if you need that heavy lifting."

"Probably about all you're good for," Mac joked back, trying not to look at the frown that was now directed her way. Logan was almost up the stairs before she actually turned to address Veronica. "We actually do get along," she told her friend after a moment.

Veronica pulled one of Logan's hoodies over her head and smiled. "You mean you two argue for my benefit?" she asked sarcastically, shaking her head as she moved over to the other side of the couches to slide into her flip flops.

As she stood, she knew that a lecture would be coming the second they were in the car and Logan wasn't able to save her. "We do it out of love," she joked, grabbing the notebook and pen off of the counter and handing it to her friend. "You start the list, I'll drive."

* * *

There weren't that many reasons for Logan to be standing in the middle of the Balboa County Sheriffs department in the middle of the afternoon, but since the death of Don Lamb, he didn't find the prospect to be as daunting anymore. He'd just arrived from the gym, and he hadn't even had to say hello to Leo before he was ushered into the Sheriff's office. Granted, he wouldn't be nearly as nervous if the Sheriff had been there waiting for him.

"Logan." Keith Mars wandered into his office and looked at his daughter's boyfriend for a moment before dropping down into his chair and taking a sip of his now lukewarm coffee. "To what do I owe the pleasure?"

Logan debated all of the ways that he could tell Keith about what had happened last night, and the fact that in less then six hours he would be picking his best friend and his daughter up from the airport. Everything from a serious confession to joking about it had crossed his mind, and in truth, no matter how he did it, Logan foresaw himself getting yelled at for some reason. He shook his head when he realized that he had gone a full three minutes without speaking and then looked Keith in the eye. "Did you hear the kidnapping charges have been dropped?" he asked solemnly.

Keith didn't have to ask which charges. There was only one kidnapping case that Logan would possibly be interested in. "The local FBI director may have called to let me know about that." he said after a moment. "Does this mean that I shouldn't be too surprised to find out that at three-nineteen tonight Duncan and Lilly Kane will be landing in Neptune?"

"Do I want to know how you keep tabs on all of this stuff?" Logan ran a hand over his head and then laughed when he realized that his visit today meant absolutely nothing.

"Jake Kane stopped by my office yesterday after harassing my daughter at the food court." Keith took another sip of his coffee and then looked at Logan thoughtfully. He was trying to be a good kid now, and that had to count for something. "He brought in the paperwork, and I called the local FBI director and found out that the second Duncan put his name on a ticket it had been flagged in their system. " He picked up a file and handed it to Logan. "They know where he's coming from, and I hate to tell this to my daughter, but if he tries to run again, he won't be able to go back to Australia."

"I'm sure she already realized that." Logan thumbed through the file. The FBI hade compiled his current address and phone number, and they had taken pictures of his condo. They even had Lilly's school records in the few hours since he had told his friend that he could come home. It would have been impressive if he hadn't seen how fast Veronica could work. "I just wanted to make sure there wouldn't be any problem with me picking them up from the airport, and that you knew they were allowed to be here."

"I'm not looking forward to arresting Duncan," Keith said slowly, taking the folder back and setting it on top of others on his desk. "And I'm not planning on doing it either, not as long as the three of you stay out of trouble." Keith watched Logan's face and realized that the younger man had no idea what it was he was talking about. "I was planning on having this conversation with my child later, but I'm going to be keeping an eye on you three. This trial may not go down like you're hoping, and there's no way this Sheriff is going to let Duncan go if he tries to run again."

Logan took a deep breath and blew it out of his nose. "I don't think I need to tell you that we're planning on obeying the law, no matter the outcome."

Keith laughed. "It's nice of you to lie to me, Logan," he said after a moment. "But I know my daughter. And I know she's not going to let Lilly be handed over to the Mannings if she can help it."

Logan just nodded. "I've got to get back to the house," he almost announced, groping for a way out of the conversation.

"Tell my kid that I'm going to come see her when I can get out of here." Keith frowned at his daughter's boyfriend and then allowed himself to smile. "And Alicia wants to have all you kids over to the house sometime soon for dinner." He paused when Logan turned back to face him. "And I do mean all. Duncan and Lilly have been invited, too."

"Thanks." Logan ran a hand through his hair and then turned again. "See ya later, Keith."

"Have a good day, Logan."

* * *

"So where's Wallace?" Mac pulled her hair up into a ponytail and went back to putting together the play pen that she and Veronica were assembling on Logan's floor. They had already put an identical one on Veronica's floor, and there was even one in the basement near the pool table. There were baby monitors to be placed in almost every single room and Mac had to refrain from commenting when she saw that Logan's AmEx black card was responsible for the tab on this trip.

"This close to finals, you know how Wallace gets." Veronica snapped the rod in place and sat back. "He'll probably reemerge in a few days after his engineering final claiming his brain is fried." She tossed the baby pillow that she was sitting on into the pen and smiled when she realized that the only thing left to do was change the sheets in the guest room and finish washing the clothes that she had bought for Lilly, and Logan's housekeeper was already working on the sheets.

Mac smiled. "And tell me how you're planning on studying for finals with your houseguests?" She ran a hand over her head and patted her pony tail. "Logan too. There's going to be a lot of activity here over the next few weeks."

"That's what Logan said this morning, but we'll manage."

If Veronica seemed nonplussed about it, Mac decided that she shouldn't worry, either. Then again, Veronica was holding steady to her 4.0 GPA. Tt was Logan who was struggling. "Well, my last final is on Tuesday, so if you need anyone to watch Lil while Duncan's with the lawyer I'm volunteering." She thought about what she was offering and then smiled when she realized that a little time with Lilly could be just what the doctor ordered. "It won't help anyone if you and Logan fail your finals."

"We just may have to take you up on that." Veronica heard the dryer buzz and was on her feet again as Mac just lounged against the couch. "And I'm suddenly wondering where my boyfriend has gotten off to."

"He doesn't usually spend hours on end at the gym?" Mac knew more about Logan's schedule then most people did, but it still wouldn't surprise her if he did decide to put in a few more hours on a day when he didn't have class just to work out some of the frustration that the last few days might have brought on.

Mac's phone went off again and both Veronica and Mac looked to the coffee table. "If that's Dick for the third time, then I'm fairly certain that Logan and Dick aren't at the gym anymore." Mac reached for her phone with just a hint of a smile and then Veronica frowned.

"Well he is going to have to get to the airport soon." Mac ran a hand through her hair and reached for her water bottle. "Maybe he left early in order to make it past security."

* * *

Logan Echolls was probably the one and only person that Neptune National security would let through the gates to wait on a plane to land. After seeing the Sheriff and making sure he still had a house, he'd gone ahead to the airport to make sure he was on time for when the plane landed. He'd made it through both check points and past the airport waiting area and all he'd had to do was sign a few autographs and take a few pictures. He had never been happier to do so when his best friend and his daughter cleared the gate. "DK!"

Three flights and two layovers had done nothing for Duncan's disposition. He was still as happy as he had been when he and Lilly had loaded themselves into the cab first thing that morning in Australia. He readjusted his t-shirt and bounced his daughter lightly on his hip when he heard his name being called. He was still paranoid when it came to airports. "Logan." Duncan waved and Lilly followed suit. "Do I want to know how exactly you made it all the way back here?"

"You can ask but I don't have to tell." Reaching for his Goddaughter, Logan kissed the toddler on the head and shook the hand of her father, pulling him into a light hug. He couldn't express how glad he was to be able to just walk right into an airport to pick them up. They didn't have to worry about the subterfuge that Veronica and Wallace had to go through last time Duncan came to town. "Hello, Miss Lilly." He took her bag from her father and twirled her around. "Did you enjoy the flight?"

"She slept through the whole thing." Duncan fell into step next to his best friend and ran a hand over his daughter's head. She turned to face him, sticking her tongue out at him before nestling her head back into Logan's shoulder. "Thank God!"

"Daddy's joking," he whispered none too quietly, patting her on the back. "We're going to put him back on the plane." He kissed her nose just to listen to her giggle.

Duncan wiped his daughter's mouth and smiled. "Uncle Logan's forgetting that if I get on a plane so do you. And then grandma and grandpa get to be pissed that they brokered this deal for no reason."

The cuss word that came out of Logan's mouth was not something that Lilly should have heard, much less repeated a second later. When Duncan shouted his name in the middle of the airport, Logan sighed. "What? She's heard worse." He hoisted Lilly onto his other hip and kissed her lightly on the forehead. "Come on, Pumpkin. Aunt Veronica's likely to be pissed I took so long."

They didn't have to go through baggage claim; Duncan packed only enough to make it through the flights and the first day. There had been a plan in his mind to send Lilly shopping with Veronica once they got settled. When they exited the building and managed to make it past the cameras, he didn't even think to question why it was that Logan was double parked in a fire lane.

"We headed to your place?" he asked slowly as he lifted Lilly from his friend's hip and secured her into the car seat that Logan had in his backseat. He didn't even bother asking why Logan and Veronica had hung onto the one they had bought when he had come to town the year before. Briefly he wondered where they hid it.

"Ronnie told me that we needed to come straight home." Logan slid into the drivers seat and slid the key into the ignition. "Apparently we are going to get changed and go out to eat like the non-fugitives that we are."

Duncan shook his head. "Lilly's not used to eating out," he said after a moment. In Australia he had very rarely taken her to a McDonalds much less a fancier place. "Can't we just order in and save the noise and the temper tantrum for a time when Celeste wants to take us out?"

There was a chuckle and Logan tried not to nod. "I have no problem with that." He answered, double checking Lilly in her seat before pulling out of the fire lane and into the flow of airport traffic.

After the thirty minute drive, Duncan realized that he should have been more specific when it came to questioning his friend about living arrangements.

When Logan said 'little' cottage, Duncan had gotten into his head an idea of a small two bedroom bungalow on a private beach. At the very most he was thinking a nice-sized condo. When the Rover pulled onto a private drive within miles of Cape Crescent and in front of a gated three story beach house, Duncan had to remind himself that he could take his friend out of the 90909 zip code, but it would take a while to get the 90909 zip code out of his friend. It was a light tan color and the side closest to the road boasted of broad windows and multiple French doors. The view was probably amazing.

"Nice little cottage," Duncan reminded his friend quietly as the Rover pulled up between a restored Lebaron and a police car. Veronica's Saturn was parked on the other side of Keith's. Logan noted that Mac's Bug and Dick's Truck were both notably absent from the driveway. At least one of the two was likely to show back up before the end of the night.

"I bought it for the double master suites," Logan said slowly, killing the engine and popping the locks. When Duncan shot him a skeptical look he laughed. "The one on the top floor's mine, the one closest to the kitchen is Ronnie's." Logan pulled Lilly out of her car seat and bounced her on his hip and tickled her chin. "She claims she doesn't feel right sleeping at her dad's new place now that Keith and Alicia set a date, so she has her own space here. There's even a studio on the top floor."

"And how do you explain the car?"

Logan shouldered the duffle bag and laughed. "Don't ask."

* * *

"Are you sure that this is what you want to get yourself involved in?" Keith set down his coffee cup and leaned back on the chair in the breakfast nook. He watched his daughter flutter around, folding toddler clothes and going back through a box of toys to double check the contents. "Taking care of a child is tiring work."

"I won't be the only one taking care of Lilly." Veronica stopped long enough to give her father a mock stern look. It was pointless to be debating this with her now, especially since Logan had already texted her to let her know that he had successfully made the pick up. "Her father will be here, too."

Keith took another sip of his coffee and smiled. "You mean the father that you snuck into the country last year?"

Veronica just huffed. "And here I thought you knew who Lilly's father was," she snapped back at him. Their father daughter chat had turned into something harsher then either of them wanted.

His hands came up in surrender. "Retract the claws, buttercup. I just want you to understand that if this doesn't go as you and Logan want it to, you're going to be very, very upset when Duncan has to give that baby up."

There was no room for debate in Veronica's eyes when she turned to her father. "He won't," she promised, and then shook her head. She would be working closely with Clarence in the investigation of the Manning's, among other things. "And I know I shouldn't be telling you this, but there is already more then one contingency plan in place in case this goes wrong." She ran a hand through her hair. "The head of the Kane security team and I have already seen to it."

"I hate it when you warn me of this stuff." Keith's hand went over his face and through what little hair he had left. He had no doubt that his daughter had more ways then he could think of to get Duncan and the baby out of the country. And now that she tipped him off, he would have to start. "It's like you love reminding me that you're the best criminal I know."

"Taught by the best cop this side of the Prime Meridian," Veronica announced proudly, folding the last of Lilly's clothes and placing them in the basket. She had been shopping for a few items, knowing that Duncan's idea of packing for an extended vacation was a toothbrush and his gold card. "You really shouldn't jump to the conclusion that everything I do that I don't tell you about it illegal." She checked her watch again and then sighed. They really should have been home by now.

"I don't jump to conclusions, Veronica," Keith said after a moment, trying his hardest to get his daughter to understand that it wasn't that he wanted her to be a criminal. He just wanted to be proud of the fact that she's smarter then him when it comes to more then the law. "I take a tiny step forward and there conclusions are." He watched her come up short and he knew the temptation to flick him off was almost too much for her. "And I would like to go on record that I'm glad that Duncan and Lilly can safely come home for the trial."

"Thank you." The front door slammed, Logan bellowed something about being home, and Veronica's grin got wider. "We're upstairs!" she shouted back.

Two flights of stairs later while lugging a duffle and a child, Logan leaned against the railing. "You're going to have to learn to be more specific." Logan kissed Veronica on the forehead even as the petite blonde was reaching for the toddler in his arms. "Keith. Long time no see."

"Alicia says dinner's on for tomorrow night," he informed the younger man, in continuation of their previous conversation. Then he turned to his daughter, who now had a wiggling toddler in her arms. "And I assume this is Lilly." The child giggled as Keith tickled under her neck.

Duncan stopped short at the sight of the sheriff and tried to smile. "Mr. Mars," he said after a second, patting his daughters head.

"It's Keith," Keith said quickly, silently hoping that Duncan had omitted the last time that they had met when talking to his daughter. "And welcome home, Duncan."

"Thank you." He watched as Veronica shifted his daughter on her hip and took off her shoes, setting them on the side table. "And thank you for letting us crash here."

"Mi casa es tu casa." Veronica motioned to the living room and then set Lilly down in the play pen, watching the little girl take a running start at the stuffed elephant in the corner. "Besides, I'm not paying rent here so I get no say in whether or not you stay."

"You have your own floor" Logan argued. "And I don't pay rent here so neither should you." He looked to Keith for help and then sighed when the older Mars just chuckled. He may not like the fact that his only daughter was shacking up with her boyfriend, but he couldn't say that Logan wasn't doing his best to take care of his girl. Logan turned back to Duncan and sighed. "What did you want for dinner?"

Veronica turned then, watching her father bend to pick up his hat from the coffee table. "I thought we were going out," she asked even as her father was putting his hat on.

"We were thinking we could skip the media circus," Logan said after a minute, looking to Keith again for assistance.

This time Keith complied. "They've both had a long day," he piped up as he adjusted his jacket and prepared to leave. He still had to put in a few hours at the office before he was allowed to go home to his fiancé. "Maybe it would be best if you guys just ordered take out."

"Lilly's never been out to a restaurant," Veronica said quickly. "I wanted to be there when she experienced it."

"And I want her to throw food at Celeste on her first outing out," Duncan said offhandedly, watching as Lilly threw her stuffed elephant at the wall of her play pen and laughing when it bounced back at her. "We'll hit a McDonalds or something tomorrow. I just want a quiet night in tonight."

"It's settled." Keith kissed his daughter on the head and smiled. "I have to get back to the station," he announced. "Promise me no laws will be broken tonight?"

Duncan laughed. "We'll save it for tomorrow," he joked, watching as Keith eyed the room wearily before hugging his daughter and throwing a two finger wave at Logan. "Have a good night, Mr. Mars."

"It's Keith," he corrected again before heading for the stairs. "And I mean it. Stay out of trouble tonight."

* * *

Logan dropped himself down onto the couch and readjusted the baby monitor on the end table. The house had long since gone silent; the only two awake were the men. He took a sip of his Scotch and looked to his friend. Veronica had gone to bed hours ago, after putting Lilly down in the guest room for the night. Logan remembered wishing that Veronica's room had been on the floor with the guest room, and then he watched Duncan take the baby monitor and attach it to his hip on his way out the door onto the deck.

"Do I get spared the lecture of my million dollar house?" He asked as Duncan took in the view for the first time. "I've got an extra board if you want to try surfing in the morning."

"I don't think Lilly's ready to be left by herself in a new environment." Duncan took a sip of his drink and shrugged. Lilly would be fine. He knew it, he wasn't even sure why he was using her as an excuse. "I think I may have to call my dad and meet with the lawyer." He tried again, the second excuse falling as flat as the first.

Logan nodded knowingly and patted his friend on the back. "Mac offered to take her for a few hours if you needed it." He said after a moment. "And Veronica won't pass up the chance to spend time with her."

"There was a time when I thought she'd be a perfect mother to Lilly." Duncan dropped down onto the ottoman of the lounger and looked at Logan.

"You can't have my girlfriend." The younger man joked; turning to make sure the back door was shut.

Duncan laughed. "Just being honest man, I don't want her anymore."

There was a pause and Logan shook his head. "I don't know if that's a good thing or not." He admitted softly. "Although if you had said differently you and I might have had to fight. "

"Things finally going well?" The Kane heir set his drink on the railing and double checked the baby monitor. He hadn't heard a thing from his daughter since she had been laid to bed and that worried him slightly. He had never seen Lilly adapt to being in a new place as fast as she seemed to be relaxing around Logan and Veronica.

Logan chuckled. "Best year of my life." He admitted softly. "Ronnie and I are finally in a good place. I've grown up enough to appreciate it. I'm doing really well, man."

"You look happy." Duncan added quickly, taking a sip of his drink.

"I feel it."

Duncan leaned back and frowned. "So tell me what else I've missed. What's new with Dick?"

There was a chuckle and Logan thought about their mutual friend. Dick had been the one to make the biggest transformation over the last year. "He's started going to class." He said after a moment, trying his hardest not to speculate to his best friend about why Dick had begun attending classes. He knew what he and Veronica thought, but he wanted to see what Duncan had to say about it after the Kane heir had seen it first hand. "He's been going to therapy too. Mac recommended her therapist and she seems to be doing him a world of good."

"Mac or the therapist?"

Logan gave up and smiled. "Both." He said after a moment. "The shrink seems to help him stay focused, but Mac's been keeping him academically straight. She's even been tutoring him when he needs the help."

"She still seeing the PETA Guy?"

"PHAT." Logan corrected, "And she and Bronson broke up." He didn't want to go too deep into his tech buddy. There were still days when he was so sure that she was going to fall apart if someone said the wrong word to her. Those were the days that he noticed that she and Dick were joined at the hip. "She's flying solo for now."

"You say 'for now' like there's someone who's hopeful."

Logan just grinned. "You'll see." He promised, and then he shifted his feet on the deck and ran a hand through his hair. "Have you called your dad yet?"

There was a groan and Logan watched as Duncan ran a hand through his hair, pulling on the roots. "I'll call him in the morning." He said slowly, indecisively.

"You should call him now." Logan handed his phone over to his best friend and watched as Duncan stared at it.

* * *

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